Between Sorties
by AnonymousCow
Summary: A collection of loosely connected stories of Ship Girls and their misadventures.
1. Sortie 1: Consultation

"I would like to have a consultation," was what Shiranui uttered as she entered the Admiral's office, "It is a matter of the heart."

The Admiral stared at her with glassy eyes as he dropped his pen. Likewise his Secretary for the day, Akagi, froze mid-slurp of her fifty yen priced cup noodles she had painstakingly made after ten failed attempts. Now this was something interesting considering the Ship Girl asking for the consultation.

If this was just a normal discussion, the Admiral would have simply went along with it yet it was the second part of Shiranui's request which baffled his mind. Turning to his side, he exchange looks with Akagi as they engaged in a silent conversation.

"Who is this and what did she do to Shiranui?" asked the Admiral.

"I don't know! But you better talk to her now!" said Akagi with wide eyes as they turned their attention back at the stone faced Destroyer.

Clearing his throat, the Admiral decided to entertain his charge by asking for clarification, "W-What's this about, Shiranui? What do you mean matter of the heart?"

"I am in love with Kaga-san," the Destroyer put bluntl-

 _ **"PFFFFFTTTT, WHAT,"**_ squawked Akagi as she spat her noodles into her Admiral's face, "YOU'RE WHAT."

Meanwhile, the Admiral deliberately ignored the scalding hot cup noodles that has been sprayed upon his visage, "She's got some guts saying that with Akagi here."

At the first member of the 1stCarDiv's words, Shiranui couldn't help but flush deep scarlet as she brought her thumbs together while averting her gaze, "I... I am not familiar with this feeling, Admiral. Therefore I could only turn to you for counsel. Kagerou is simply clueless and I Kuroshio would simply pry... S-So... Nui..."

 _"Oh god she's serious,"_ thought the Admiral as his thoughts struck him like lightning.

 _"Oh god she's serious!_ " Akagi internally screamed. She turned her gaze towards her Admiral whom was observing the bashful Shiranui whom was shuffling her feet like a school girl before him.

This was quite the situation for the Admiral! Being in charge of over a hundred Ship Girls was a big responsibility and managing each of their unique personalities was enough to drive a normal human insane. However the Admiral had endured for eight months on the job with an unbendable will of steel be it in battle or fleet organizations, raking in awards and medals not only for himself but for his girls as well!

Akagi, as a veteran of his Fleet, knew exactly how talented the Admiral was despite his age but even then he would have to think about this carefully. That's right! Unlike battles, this was a girl's heart he was faced with! As far as she knew, the Admiral was unfamiliar with a girl's heart and he knew that himself after the infamous incident in his childhood he was forced to confess while drinking with Jun'you!

His skills had no place here! Yet even then he gazed at Shiranui's blushing face with a sharp look.

Akagi most certainly marveled at how cool-headed he was in this situation!

He closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath.

It seemed that he made up his mind!

"Y-You can count on me *wink*," said the Admiral as his sweat began to slide down his cheeks as he displayed a shaky grin.

 _"THAT'S NOT REASSURING AT ALL,"_ thought a mortified Akagi.

"Is that so? I'm relieved," sighed Shiranui as she held her chest with a hand.

"AND YOU TRUST HIM SO EASILY?!" Akagi echoed internally while looking at Shiranui in horror.

"A-And it's a good thing Akagi's here too. Perhaps she could give you some information about Kaga that you might want to know," coughed the Admiral as he pointed at the Carrier with two finger guns.

 _"YOU TRAITOR, HOW COULD YOU?!"_ thought Akagi with a pained look before her eyes darted towards Shiranui whom had come dangerously close with eyes wide with expectations, "Oh god."

"I am most grateful for your help, Akagi-san," said Shiranui as she looked at the Carrier with her normally stoic and cold eyes now filled with wonderment and the excited light of a child who knew she was being supported.

To Akagi, she would have glared at her Admiral for putting her between a rock and a hard place but she wouldn't be able to say no to a Shiranui like this. It would simply be too cruel.

"I... Yes, I would be most certainly be happy to help you, Shiranui-chan," Akagi replied with a nervous smile. When Shiranui wasn't looking she sent a glare at her Admiral that could have killed an Abyssal Destroyer, "Bastard."

"Bite me," was the message the Admiral's arrogant look was saying.

"Well, if that's the case... Then may I explain?" offered Shiranui as she stepped away with her usual stoic expression back in place.

"By all means," urged Akagi.

"Sure, go ahead," replied the Admiral.

Clearing her throat, the pink haired Destroyer then said, "It all started during that grueling battle of the Northern Sea."

 _"Wait, hold on... I was in the Fleet too, wasn't I?"_ thought Akagi as she listened to Shiranui's story.

"It was during that battle that I sustained massive injuries but I was saved by Kaga-san just as I was about to be sunk," continued the Destroyer with a resolute expression, "I would have accepted my fate back then however it was through Kaga-san's courageous display of will and determination that I held on just in time for Yukikaze to dump a Repair Crew charm on my face. Ever since then, I looked up to Kaga-san when she still had her striking long hair and fearless expression."

 _"Wait... Kaga-san? Long hair?"_ thought Akagi as a creeping feeling began to crawl behind her back.

"This heavy feeling in my heart would simply not lighten. I've made my research and written down five page essays in regards to my feelings yet even with all the techniques and advice I have scrounged up from the Internet, this feeling would no go away. I have decided to do something about it yet my own inexperience is preventing me from taking action," continued Shiranui with a regretful tone.

Clenching her fist, the Destroyer then said, "Admiral! What is love?!"

"It's burning, yo," came the Admiral's cool reply.

"B-Burning, you say?" said Shiranui as she was taken aback by this.

"Yeah. Burning Love. Do it like Kongou does," said the Admiral with a nod.

"I... I'm afraid I don't understand. What does Kongou-san do?" asked the Destroyer with a confused look on her face. Right. Kongou had only been assigned to the base a few days ago so it was obvious that someone as serious and recluse as Shiranui wouldn't see much of the Battleship as unlikely it was to miss her.

"Do you hear that, Shiranui? Listen carefully," said the Admiral as he cupped his right ear.

Shiranui frowned and closed her eyes to open her senses.

...

Far into the distance...

It could be heard...

Somewhere...

At the pier... She could be heard...

...

 ** _"BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNNIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE!"_**

...

"!" with her eyes widening, Shiranui stepped back, "I hear it! I hear it Admiral!"

"Good, good," said the Admiral with a sagely nod, "Now do as she does."

"Shout 'Burning Love', Admiral?" asked the Destroyer.

"If it needs be, so be it," replied the Admiral with another nod.

"What in god's blue sea is this idiot babbling abou- Wait... Hold on, it actually makes sense," thought Akagi.

That's right!

"If you wish for yourself to be freed of that weight in your heart, why not let it out, Shiranui?" suggested the Admiral with a kind smile, "Be honest with yourself, relax and release all your inhibitions, stop worrying and move forward. Advance through the chaotic waves inside of you and sail full steam ahead to what you really desire. If only to grant yourself a peace of mind..."

Blinking, it seemed that Shiranui understood what the Admiral was trying to say. Akagi could almost say she was impressed by this.

"Besides," the Admiral then cracked a grin as he gave Akagi a sidelong glance, "You never know. The object of your affection may just hear you."

Shiranui bade Akagi and the Admiral goodbye, shutting the office door behind her as she left. This left the Carrier and Admiral alone in the office as they stared after her departing form.

Finally, it was the Admiral whom broke the silence, "You know... That day Akashi told me that Shiranui became partially color blind."

"Mhmm," mumbled Akagi.

"And perhaps... In the heat of the battle... She may have mixed up two people with each other. So misunderstandings could easily happen at that rate," coughed the Admiral, "Kaga never did sortie that day, yeah?"

"Why didn't you tell her?" asked Akagi with a raised eyebrow.

"Do you honestly think I'm cruel enough to break the girl's heart then and there?" scoffed the Admiral, "She'll find out about it herself. And when she does... You better get ready."

"That's just as bad you know, misleading her," huffed the Carrier.

"Kaga's going to be in for a shock. Don't you think that will be funny?" the Admiral sighed, "Yep. It's funny."

...

"You know, you actually said something very nice to her there," giggled the Carrier before she glared at the Admiral, "You're a bastard though."

"Bite me," growled the Admiral before going back to finishing his paperwork.

...

While the day passed over the Naval Base... At the distance... A call could be heard...

" _B-B-BUR...BURNING LOVE!"_


	2. Sortie 2: Bono Salt

"So you're just playing this all day whenever you want?" questioned Akebono as she turned around, her long purple hair swaying through the air as the bell on her head clinked. She held up a thin white box with some rather upbeat fanfare playing within it.

The caption "Victorious" shined upon the screen while virtual confetti rained upon its background before the Destroyer took one look at it again in uncertainty before grimacing.

It was quite an odd device that she'd usually find the Admiral fiddling about with but recently it was all in a rage among the Ship Girls once Murakumo gave up and let them have a few.

Floating peacefully upon the Naval District's private pool, Imuya smirked and said, "It helps with killing time. You know how boring expeditions could be so I thought I'd give you a few pointers considering your role on the base. You'll like it, I promise. Just don't let that stupid traditionalist thing of your get the better of you and embrace the modern age."

"Right… The modern age brought us Naka's ceaseless singing tripe to deal with. Fat lot that benefited us," griped the Destroyer as she hesitantly pressed buttons on the smartphone, "So aside from this game what else can this thing do?"

"Well it can play a whole lot of other games," hummed Imuya, twirling a red lock of her hair with a thoughtful look.

Akebono blinked and frowned, "Wait, you can play more than one?"

"Have you been living under a rock?" drawled Imuya with a look of disbelief.

"Hey, I just got summoned last week, don't get smarmy with me!" scoffed Akebono with a slight blush on her face as she looked away. She glanced down on the phone and pressed buttons… Soon she found herself staring at the screen's alarm settings. Tensing, she glanced back at the red haired submarine staring at her with an amused look. She finally had enough when she turned around stomped her foot, "Okay fine, just tell me how to get games here!"

Imuya's smile turned into a full-fledged gleeful grin before she spoke, "You sure though? It's a veritable time sink if anything."

"Isn't that the point though? For the time sink?" clarified the Destroyer with a suspicious glare.

"Yes well, but be careful. It might just take your soul and everything you love," warned Imuya before she lazily sunk into the pool, splashing a bit water into the air.

Akebono stepped away to keep herself dry as she stared after the submerged Ship Girl whom resurfaced after a moment.

She then gritted her teeth and repeated her demand, "Just tell me how to work this stupid thing, damn it. I'm a Ship Girl and a proud Destroyer and I'm telling you right now it's not sucking no soul from me. I bet the games are stupid anyway!"

Imuya simply clicked her tongue while shaking her head, "Oh Miss Bono…Here, let me teach you. This is how you deal with Fairies."

And so the Bono was taught.

…..

….

…

 _ **One Week later**_

Kagerou walked down the Destroyer Dormitory's hallway when she spotted a familiar figure slumped forward up ahead. She recognized that long purple hair anywhere and put on her best smile and readied her brightest tone.

With a skip in her step and an aura that would blind even Yamashiro, Kagerou patted her fellow Destroyer on the shoulder and greeted her, "Yo, Bono! How was your wee-"

"Fairies," Akebono sharply replied.

Confused, Kagerou could only smile, "Eh?"

"These fucking fairies. These fucking fairies filling up my Unit slots, I hate them all!" snarled the shorter Destroyer as she clenched her free hand while her left held her smart phone all while trembling hard. Akebono jerked her head to look at Kagerou in the eye while raising the screen, "35 Fairies. _ **35 fairies, damn it, I can become a God with these many fairies but they never stop coming!**_ "

Taken aback by the mad look in her friend's eyes, the vibrant Kagerou, name ship of her class decided that it would be better to calm Akebono first, "Now let's not get hasty, what did the fairies do and why are you so ma—"

"Every. Single. Fight I get fairies! Every node, every Daily Reward, it's fairies!" Akebono all but screeched as she pinned the taller Destroyer against the wall. Realizing this, Kagerou's apparent confusion was replaced by a slight blush on her cheeks as she had herself cornered by the shorter girl.

"H-H-Hey Bo-Bono?" she began as Akebono didn't seem to be in the mood to listen, "He-hey maybe you can explain what the fairies d-do?"

"They make your units stronger…" breathed Akebono, ignoring Kagerou's ears going red as she continued, "One fairy is good. Two is great. With three you can advance to Tier 4 Fairies. If you get three Tier 4 Fairies you can reach Tier 5 which can make your units level up exponentially."

"Wait, so it's something from a game-" Kagerou began.

"IT'S NOT ABOUT THE GAME ANYMORE, IT'S ALL ABOUT THE FAIRIES NOW, KAGEROU!" Akebono shrieked, making the other girl's heart skip a beat, "They won't leave me alone. Just when I thought I'd be free of them, I log into the game and get my bonus… And then you know what I get?"

"W-What?" breathed Kagerou as she tried to glance to her sides to see for anyone to help her.

"Link Points. You can use those Points to buy fairies. To buy upgrade materials. Materials that are the Fairies themselves…" whispered Akebono as her entire frame began to tremble, "And the fairies cost 500 Link Points…"

"O-Okay?"

"And you know how much the game gave me?"

"H-How many?" Kagerou swallowed the growing lump in her throat. She was finding it hard to breathe as she slowly slid down into the floor with Akebono towering over her.

"50,000 Link Points…" hissed the purple haired Destroyer. Akebono stared right into Kagerou's eyes with the most soulless stare she could muster, "You know what that means?"

"Eh?"

"Fairies."

"F-Fairies?"

"All the Fairies," Akebono pushed herself away from the wall and Kagerou and stumbled backward, hitting the window and falling flat on her rear as her energy left her. She set aside her smart phone still pinging notifications of her successful gacha rolls and reached for the ceiling, "All the fairies. _ **All**_ of them."

Kagerou blinked as she tried to regain her composure. Slowly rising back up to her feet while using the wall behind her as support, the taller Destroyer knelt down and lifted Akebono's fringes, "Have you been sleeping?"

"I only sleep when all the fairies are gone and all of my units are Gods or Tier 6 or… Shit… I need to grind for Evolve Materials… I must save the Princess…. I'm gonna save the world but **_those fucking fairies though, oooh, I hate them so much_** ," hissed the purple haired and obviously sleep deprived Destroyer as she weakly pounded the ground. Sighing, she looked up and said, "Hey Kagerou…"

"What is it, you dumbass?" Kagerou replied with an amused look.

"I hate everything," murmured Akebono before finally passing out. Kagerou raised an eyebrow at this, her attention being caught by Akebono's phone losing its power at last and shutting down.

"Right, let's get you back to bed," sighed Kagerou with a small smile as she lifted her friend up from the floor back into the latter's room.


	3. Sortie 3: SoulsColle

Walking through the damp marshlands, the lone girl breathed out a sigh as she strained her eyes to see what awaited her in the horizon. She had been walking for a good six hours now and she has yet to encounter single foe during her travel.

She began to wonder if the information she received from that Inn was correct otherwise she'd be stuck here with damp feet and a twitchy trigger finger. The gray sun hung above the sky almost mocking her with the dim light it was casting overhead.

Clouds gathered all around, giving off the illusion that it would pour heavily at any given moment when the number of rainfall that occurred could be counted with two hands. She stomped across the vast marsh, crushing thick growth beneath her feet while she cursed under her breath. This was clearly tedious work but it was work all the same. She needed this job otherwise she'll be stuck wandering this land for god knows how many more years.

If only she didn't need to fight to get out of this place.

Exhaling deeply, she then sucked in a lungful of damp air and almost gagged. She absolutely hated the place and she briefly wondered how the hell she got here in the first place.

Feeling the heat get to her, she took off her hat and fanned herself with it, allowing her deep green hair to cascade out and contrast greatly with her dark cloak. Her crescent moon hairpin glistened in the gray sunlight as she turned her sharp green eyes towards the heavens.

Nagatsuki silently cursed whoever dropped her here.

Sure she got mulched during the last sortie and sunk but it was either her or Yayoi and she wasn't about to let her sister die in front of her eyes. Better her than anyone else, is what she thought. Knowing that Choukai shot that Battleship Princess dead as she sunk was the only thing providing relief in her heart. At least they got away…

What was strange was that she was here, alive and breathing when she clearly felt her body be dragged down by the Abyss. She felt water fill her up to the point she couldn't even hope to swim back up. Placing her hat back on her head, she trudged on.

The weather hasn't changed since she woke up on that beach still damaged with all of her equipment broken. Back then, she had no chance of fixing her rigging on her own without a dock so she was pretty vulnerable then…

Now though…

Nagatsuki tensed and spotted a cluster of dark whirlpools manifest all around her. Her RADAR pinged multiple hostiles ready for engagement, prompting her to draw her 12.7cm guns and loading them as the Beasts of the Abyssals twisted and twitched their pale bodies while baring their thick silver teeth.

Their lone eyes all glowed blue before turning deep crimson as they hissed and screeched across the marshlands. The girl simply stood there as she braced herself for the attack.

She was ready.

Nagatsuki planted her feet against the marsh before dashing across it with the Beasts of Rohs charged to meet her.

…..

….

…

 **In this world, the Abyssals spread their influence on land. Foes a Ship Girl would meet at sea in the Real World/The World of the Living/etc would be different. In this world, the Abyssals would latch upon mankind and feed upon them, twisting their bodies to something one couldn't even begin to describe. The Abyss blighted the land, reaching deep into its heart from the blackened seas…**

…..

….

…

Nagatsuki danced through the wild swings and stabs of her adversaries while retaliating with precise gunfire right into her enemy's heads. It was no use to target anything else considering that the Abyssals stuck to these men's heads would simply keep them going. She clicked her tongue as she caused one of the Beasts of Roh to stagger down to his knee. She dashed close and punched through the crimson eye of the Ro-Class Destroyer stuck to his head.

Grabbing tight on the sphere shaped object within, she violently yanked her fist out as the Beast of Roh was blown away. She turned and punched another in the gut before placing the barrel of her gun beneath its chin.

 _BANG_

 _BANG_

…..

….

…

 **Lands were consumed and mankind faced imminent destruction had it not been for the brave Souls whom have fallen to this world's shores. Souls of Warships from Ages long past returned as defenders against the Abyssal threat.**

 **They slew the Abyssals with each of one of them being strong enough to combat an entire horde of these creatures. Wielding weapons from an ancient age long since past, they fought with great ferocity and efficiency that mankind was allowed to hold on.**

…...

….

…

She rolled away from another Beast of Roh's swing as its compatriot fell. Crushing the Roh's core within her hand, she took a step forward and urged the last three Beasts to attack her. The trio charged with surprising speed while Nagatsuki rushed to meet them.

She anticipated the first Beast's swing and holstered her gun, trading it for a small, flat buckler and batted away her assailant's descending arm. Drawing a short machete from her leg, she stabbed the vulnerable Abyssal square on its sternum before raking her blade upwards.

Spinning in place, she stopped just in time to jam the barrel of her gun into the next Abyssal's gaping jaw and blow its head off.

…..

….

…

 **And yet many of these brave Souls fell. One by one to the very Abyss they fought. For the longer they fought, the greater burden is placed upon and them and humanity's grasp upon that last string of hope began to slip away.**

 **They went mad as they fought, losing their own purpose through blood and battle, these defenders, these… Huntresses were not vulnerable to the blight which was corroding the lands. It was here that the world realized that they were running out of time.**

…..

….

…

She had to dash away as the third swung at her hard yet she didn't expect the follow up to be a stab. She felt its rusted blade stab her right shoulder faster than she could defend herself. As the broken blade dug into her flesh, she could only watch as it bite down on her left shoulder with its strong jaws.

"D-Damn you!" she snarled before pulling her gun's trigger at last and blowing the Abyssal's arm off. That distracted it enough from chewing her shoulder to bits before she dashed towards it and jammed her machete into its obsidian head. Yanking it out, she lifted her gun once more and fired, killing the final Beast of Roh and watching its body dissipate. Stumbling backwards, Nagatsuki hissed as she fell down on her knees. Her arms felt like horribly maimed from that clumsy stab and vicious bite.

She reached for the back of her belt and pulled out a glowing green flask and downed it in one go. Guzzling it with unquenchable thirst, she slowly began to feel warm inside as her wounds began to close. Nagatsuki looked down at the green flask she was gifted upon her arrival and sighed. Who knew Instant Repairs were still a thing in this godforsaken world… Mutsuki and Satsuki wouldn't believe her once she returned home…

If she ever returned home for that matter…

Tch.

Nagatsuki looked up at the gray sun and briefly wondered if there was truly a way out…

…..

….

…

 **Time was short… And the Purifying Water which acts as the World's Lifeblood was inching tantalizing close to the approaching blight spread by the Abyss.**

 **And soon the Waters shall fade.**

…..

….

…

It was night and Nagatsuki had her back against an anchor embedded in the middle of the marshland. She believed that she earned a good rest after that sloppy fight from before. She had to firmly stick it into her head that she wasn't fighting at sea anymore but on land. A strange concept for a Ship Girl but not something she's unfamiliar with. She now understood the purpose why her damned Admiral had her take that stupid training program/boot camp.

And now it was saving her life… Well, afterlife or whatever, she just didn't want to get her face eaten by some random Abyssal. She had been giving it some thought but the way the people referred to her guns and rigging as 'ancient' gave her the wrong feeling. Was this how the world going to be if the Ship Girls came in late? Was this how it was all going to be if they didn't win against the Abyssals?

Humans with Abyssal Destroyers for heads roaming the gray lands and the entire world falling apart.

They say that it's been over a couple of thousand years since this all began. It was amazing how the world still held itself together for those two millennia. Now humanity was on its last limbs and going by how tired everyone was, they were ready to give up. Nagatsuki didn't understand at all, just why was she here and why her? Did she get sent forward into time once she sunk? Was that how it worked or was the world just playing a cruel joke at her.

…. She just wanted to go home.

And if she'll need to fight for that right, she'll cut and shoot down anything in her path. She placed her hand against the anchor behind her and felt its oddly comforting presence. She was told that Anchors were used to restore the Souls of ship girls to their prime state should they fall in a fight. A Ship Girl's final hold on this world and if this Anchor didn't prove strong enough to weigh her down when she 'died', she'll eventually lose herself.

Now that was an odd concept she couldn't believe until she experienced it herself.

Dying was painful. Getting stabbed, mauled and shot hurt and she didn't care for death when she sunk but now it hurt her all over. It was an overall horrible experience… But using the Anchors was one of the first few things she was taught. How to use Anchors as places to rest and how to use your Repair Flask. Had she thrown herself into the wilderness without all of this knowledge, she would have gone insane long ago.

Now it's just a nice, slow descent to madness until a miracle happened.

…. This really sucked. There was no wifi and expeditions to do. Just endless fighting.

Perhaps she'll be able to carve herself a way back home…

She'll resume her mission tomorrow. It's not like the target would move and she was pretty sure that lower tier Abyssals didn't have the ability to approach Anchors. She could use this time to rest in the mean time. Nagatsuki slowly let her consciousness go as she allowed the arms of sleep to take her.

…..

….

….

The next morning, the lone girl set off once more to find her quarry. Having her flask resupplied and her weapon maintenance handled, she felt quite good about the upcoming battle. She still needed to keep her wits about her and not get over confident. Dying was easy as breathing in this world and every resurrection took a toll on her sanity. It was like a part of her was being shaved away with each death so she couldn't afford to get careless about this.

She kept her 12.7cm turret at the ready in the place of her machete. She felt the slowly temperature drop since she left the Anchor she rested on the previous night and she was grateful for what warmth her cloak was giving to her. Closing her eyes, she allowed her RADAR to function in the event there would be enemies around but so far she had been on her own. The vast marshland only stretched further and further with no end in sight.

Nagatsuki sighed and held her hand on her stomach. No need to eat just yet… Maybe she shouldn't have left her camp without some food first.

She strained her eyes to see for the landmark she was told of in the event she got near the target's location.

Well, there's no point in trying. She knew she was in the area so she'd better get this over with. Nagatsuki held her gun tightly on her offhand while she took out an old bell from strapped to her belt. Raising it into the air, she took a deep breath and rang it.

 _RING RING_

 _RING RING_

The bell's echoing ring spread throughout the wet marshlands and continued till it faded away.

Nagatsuki lowered it and placed back on her belt when she heard the growling.

With her jaw set, she slowly turned around and immediately saw the swirling ooze of corruption manifesting a hundred feet away. A twisting visage of the vile blight of the Abyss where the insistent growling could be heard echoing from it.

Nagatsuki then saw the figure of a person stumble out of it, dragging a vicious looking gun on her offhand as she walked. Her dirty blonde hair was caked in drying blood while the bandages which covered her legs, hands and half of her face seemed to be peeling off from age.

Her tattered clothes seemed to have adopted characteristics of the Abyss scourge making them almost seem life like. The person's bloody red eyes shined in the dim gray landscape and Nagatsuki couldn't help but take a step back once she saw that smile. That smile that bore rows and rows of sharp teeth as she spread her clawed right hand as it shined with fierce red power.

 _ **"POOOOOOOOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"**_

Nagatsuki barely recovered from the fierce howl when the other girl took to the air, jumping a dozen of feet into the air before descending around twenty meters away from her. The force of the impact was strong enough to blow Nagatsuki off her feet and send her tumbling along the marshes. Gritting her teeth, Nagatsuki got up once more to see the corrupted Soul twirl that brutal looking gun and strap it on her back.

The vicious girl, twisted by the Abyss then got on to all fours and howled ** _,"POOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIIII!"_**

 ** _THE MAD DOG OF SOLOMON_**

The Dog drew the gun on her back so quickly that the bullet that flew nearly tore off Nagatsuki's shoulder as she rolled to the side. Nagatsuki retaliated with her own gunfire yet the Dog only used this as a chance to close in the distance and swipe at her with that terrible clawed hand.

The girl dodged by rolling into the Dog's opposite direction before getting up and shooting once more, the repeated barks of her gun cracking across the wet landscape.

She landed two clean hits on the Dog's exposed backside before her opponent whirled around and fired back with her gun once more. Nagatsuki ducked low to avoid the first bullet before dashing hard to her right to avoid the second while firing back.

She watched the Dog kicked off the ground and jump high once more, falling downwards with the force of an artillery strike and blowing her off her feet a second time. The Dog then closed in the distance between her and Nagatsuki and drove her clawed hand forward.

The girl felt the burning sensation of steel biting through her flesh as she noticed the short blade attached to the Dog's clawed hand. And then in an almost perfect imitation of a critical attack, the Dog raked its hand through Nagatsuki's body and sending her flying. The girl crashed into a bloody heap unto the ground where she gasped for precious air as she tried kneeling.

She reached for her Repair Flask and was about to bring it to her lips when the Dog blew her head **_off-_**

* * *

Nagatsuki woke up with a start with her hand resting upon the Anchor she slept on the night before. At the edge of her vision, she could see a girl, sitting before the Anchor with graying green hair and tattered clothes… An empty look was visible on the stranger's face from where Nagatsuki was lying down as the girl simply stared at the anchor as if she were mindless.

And then Nagatsuki realized that it was her.

She got up with a jolt and the ghost disappeared.

That again. Of course, it's something she should be used to by now. A vision of her own future if she kept on dying. There's nothing to it, she'll just have to try again and hopefully beat that Dog.

She looked to the side and found her weapons leaning against the rock she used as a work bench the night before. Taking them from their respective places, Nagatsuki inspected them to see if they needed some repairs. She hasn't used them all that much so they were still in top shape.

She'll have to try again.

...

...

...

Nagatsuki walked through the dense wall of fog and happened upon the Mad Dog glaring at her from the center of the field. The Dog then grabbed the gun strapped to its back and fire a shot at the green haired girl before leaping upwards in quick succession. Nagatsuki dashed forward and ducked beneath the bullet as the Dog crashed behind her. Turning around she rolled to the side as the Dog spun in the air before her and smashed its clawed hand where she was standing.

Sliding across the mud, Nagatsuki took aim and punched three bullets to the Dog's side before she got up to recover. The Dog howled and pounced at her in blind rage so she rolled away to safety as the enemy went on a frenzied rampage. The former Destroyer swallowed hard and placed a Poisoned Brew of Reku on her shells and aimed.

 _BANG_

 _BANG_

Chunks of the Dog's flesh were shot off as it was hit by Nagatsuki's bullets. However she didn't expect her wounds to refuse to heal as they began to sizzle from the poison laced bullets, driving her into a rage filled scream that nearly blew Nagatsuki's eardrums out.

"She sure didn't like that," she breathed as black smoke rose from the Dog's wounds.

The Dog then dropped her cannon and knelt down on the ground as if she were in great pain. Her crimson eyes began to glow with increased intensity as her left arm just began to bulge and rip apart to reveal a pulsating crimson cannon. It was oozing with the corruption of the Abyss yet that was not all as the Dog slammed its clawed hand into the ground where it suddenly grew in size becoming a thick, leathery hand with long crimson blades for claws.

 ** _"Sis... party... poi... sis... party... blood... let's... party..."_** she heard the Mad Dog whisper from the distance before fixing her crimson gaze at Nagatsuki. She then raised the a 15.5cm gun protruding from her left limb and fired a devastating shot which split apart the waters and grass it pass over. Nagatsuki dodged and planted er feet the moment she evaded the bullet before rolling wildly once more to avoid getting slashed apart by the Dog's claws.

It seemed that her speed had grown exponentially, Nagatsuki could barely keep up but there was something different. Clearing her mind and tightening her grip upon her gun, Nagatsuki waited till the Dog raised her claw.

She fired and managed to get a stagger from that opening. The Dog bled out as Nagatsuki's bullet punched through body and left her vulnerable as she felt to her knees. She looked up to see the green haired girl jump in and stab her through the chest with a machete and ripping through her torso in a bloody spatter.

Yet the Dog refused to fall and caught herself at the last second. With furious red eyes, she snarled at Nagatsuki's face and drove her clawed hand through the other girl's body.

Nagatsuki coughed out oil and blood before she had herself get smashed all around by the berserk Dog, finally hitting the floor as she had a view of the gray sky.

The Dog mounted her stomach and dive in to bite off her **_throa-_**

* * *

Nagatsuki woke up once more, her hand immediately grasping for her throat. That was bad.

That was definitely not fun. She felt the phantom pain from the injuries she accumulated while being smashed along the floor. Her bones whined silently as she tried rising once more. Her chest felt lighter for some reason. Satsuki would have a better time with this, she's the combat oriented one alongside Kikuzuki. Damn it, she felt like she was close too. Her head was throbbing something fierce and she could feel some strange haze drape over her memories.

This was bad…

But she refused to just sit down here.

She had work to do.

Standing up, she turned around and raised her hand towards the Anchor. Water began to seep out of the embedded Anchor and climb all over Nagatsuki's arm. She felt a surge of power enter her as the Anchor let out a pulse. Sighing, she had her knees buckle and have her kneel. Looking down at her hands, she reached within her pockets and laid out a few pieces of ammo and Bauxite before the Anchor and watched them disappear into wisps of white light.

These wisps then swooped down and washed over her.

….. There.

"That should give me enough. I should last longer," she murmured before rising back to her feet.

...

...

...

Nagatsuki walked back to where the Mad Dog's fog door was located and with a heavy heart, glared at the swirling mass of white matter barring her a good look at her foe before the battle started.

She decided to forego the use of her gun too much. She'll have to get in close and deal as much damage as she could before she got mauled to death again. Holstering her 12.7cm main turret, she drew her machete and rubbed some Poisoned Brew of Reku. The Dog hated it so this was her best chance at this…

Resigning herself to another damnable experience, the lone girl walked towards the fog door a third time…

But something caught her eye a few meters from the fog door. Frowning, Nagatsuki walked over it and looked down to see a name scrawled over the wet grass and mud, words written in odd glyphs that she somehow understood.

 ** _Murakumo, Traitor of the Cloudy Plains_**

 ** _Summon?_**

"What…The hell?" breathed Nagatsuki as she reached out to touch the Glyph. She watched the odd letters shine one by one before disappearing, followed by the ground twisting into a bright white swirl.

A moment later another girl rose from the ground bathed in this oddly warm white light. She held in her hand a long, gold and silver spear and had a pair of 12.7 HA cannon strapped behind her back. Her golden eyes contrasted with her light blue hair, her face akin to a noble's with the charisma her simple stare was able to emit.

Wearing white leather armor with dark silver greaves, the girl resembled a veritable warrior compared to Nagatsuki's mismatched pieces of clothing and armor.

"Ah…" taken aback, Nagatsuki was about to raise her blade when the Phantom raised a hand.

The Phantom then shook her head and turned her gaze towards the Fog door. Jerking her head towards the fog, the Phantom then waited till Nagatsuki regained her bearings.

Now Nagatsuki wasn't really sure what to do here but she figured that this girl… this Phantom was an ally. She wasn't taught about this during her first few days in this world so this came as a surprise. Right, she'll take what she had and be grateful. Nagatsuki made sure that the poison effect on her blade was still on before walking up to the door.

Pressing her hand against it, she soon walked through and turned her gaze towards the Mad Dog of Solomon at the center of the field. It had reverted to its previous form but Nagatsuki knew what to do now. The Dog unleashed a savage howl before jumping upwards, kicking through the air and raising its bladed hand on its descent.

Nagatsuki rolled forward to avoid getting hit yet when she looked back she saw that the Phantom she summoned had just entered the field…

Right into the Dog's massive crash landin-

 _CLANG_

For the first time the Dog bore a surprised expression as the Phantom single-handedly endured her devastating crash attack with a spear. The Phantom looked up and smirked, electricity running through her weapon and wrapping around the Mad Dog.

With the enemy stuck to her spear, she aimed her twin 12.7 HA cannons and fired, blowing the Dog across the field. It rolled thrice before recovering, drawing its own cannon and firing several shots at Nagatsuki and her Phantom.

The green haired girl and her partner dashed through the salvos where she reached the Dog first and slashed. The crimson eyed girl snarled and swiped with her clawed hand to which Nagatsuki sidestepped and countered.

The Dog blocked the slash with her cannon and shoved Nagatsuki away as the Phantom descended and kept her at bay with that electrified spear. Nagatsuki rolled and tumbled only to look up to see that Dog and the Phantom locked in furious melee.

She hissed and rose up to her feet as the Dog and Phantom exchanged blows and pushed each other away. The Dog then snarled and unleashed several consecutive cannon fire which forced the spear wielding Phantom to dash away yet was caught by a shell to her shoulder. The Dog was about to press forward when Nagatsuki caught its attention by shooting it from the side and making it howl while it moved away.

"Are you okay?!" she called over to her Phantom kneeling at the distance.

The Phantom gave her one look and nodded.

They both looked over at the Mad Dog as it fell to its knees and had its arms twist and pulse grotesquely once more. Turning her crimson gaze at Nagatsuki once more, the Dog let out an ear piercing roar while the blight of the Abyss seeped from her body.

 _ **"POIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"**_

"This is it, I won't let you kill me again, damn it!" cried Nagatsuki as she sprinted towards the Dog alongside her Phantom.

The silent Phantom simply imbued her spear with lightning once more as the Dog leaped. They split as their opponent crashed at the spot where they were standing, a cloud of noxious fumes obscuring the Dog before it burst through it to lunge at Nagatsuki. Planting her feet on the ground, she rolled to the side as it missed her, taking the moment slash its arm-turned gun. Her attack bounced right off and she had to lean back to avoid getting killed the same way as last time.

The Phantom got behind the Dog and backstabbed her with extreme prejudice, channeling power through her spear and blowing the red eyed girl away. Nagatsuki followed as the Dog was about to recover and swung her machete across her enemy's chest, ducking low to avoid getting swiped by that brutal cannon and dashing underneath it to land a blow. The Dog found herself on her knees just as the Phantom rushed past and blowing a piece of her shoulder off.

Howling, the Dog whirled around and raised its 15.5cm main cannon arm and fired. Nagatsuki and the Phantom dodged out of the way while the Dog tried rushing towards Nagatsuki.

The girl then raised her own gun as the Dog's claw descended mid-swing.

 _BANG_

The Mad Dog of Solomon staggered and fell to her knees, Nagatsuki ceased he retreat and dashed forward with her blade singing.

 _STAB_

"Come on, just die already!" she growled before tearing through the Dog's torso in another brilliant shower of blood yet just as the last time, her opponent seemed to refuse to back down.

The Dog growled through bloody teeth as she tried grabbing Nagatsuki once more but this time the girl anticipated this and spun her machete in her hand and stabbed it at the center of the Dog's palm. She then used the few seconds the Dog was stunned with pain to draw out her gun and fire five consecutive point blank shots with her main turret, forcing the enemy to stumble backwards right into the electrified spear of the Phantom.

The Dog howled as it was subjected to a hundred thousand volts of electricity

 _ **"HGRYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!"**_

The Phantom planted one foot on the Dog's back and kicked her down into the mud.

The Mad Dog of Solomon whimpered and mewled as she tried rising once more yet that final backstab had robbed her of the last of her power. Hate blazed through her eyes as she watched Nagatsuki walk up towards her with a gun. Coming to a halt before her fallen enemy, Nagatsuki sighed and aimed her gun at the Mad Dog's head.

 ** _"P-Poi… Poi… Sis… Sis… I… I can't see, anymore…"_** rasped the Dog through its many teeth, **_"Sis… I want… To have a party. Let's… have a party… Poi…"_**

Nagatsuki turned her eyes towards the Phantom whom simply stood at the side and watched her nod her head. She then looked back down at the downed Dog and swallowed hard.

"I'm sorry."

 ** _ABYSSAL SUNK_**

The gathered power which built up the Mad Dog's ferocious strength then began to dive straight for Nagatsuki's body before a dim clump of warm white energy filled her hand. She glanced at the white Phantom who helped her through the fight but only managed to see her fade away into nothing, leaving Nagatsuki all alone in the middle of the marshland.

"Huh, weird," she murmured before looking down at the white object upon her palm, "The Mad Dog of Solomon's Soul… I wouldn't have been able to get this on my own."

She clenched her fist and took out one of the pouches hanging from her belt and placed the Soul in there. She would have to stay alive until she returned to where civilization would be and progress…

Nagatsuki looked up the gray sun and sighed.

...

...

...

 **It's said that when a Ship Spirit gathered enough Souls of the fallen, they would be deemed worthy to traverse through the Shrine which has the Purifying Waters sealed away. It's said that when they gathered enough Souls, they would be freed from the shackles of this gray world. It's said that when they collect the most powerful Souls from the darkest cores of the Abyss, they would be given the chance to allow the waters to purify the blight.**

 **Until then, Nagatsuki resigned herself to this fate.**

 **She would perform** ** _Soul Collections_** **till the day she too would fall prey to the Abyss.**

 **But that day has yet to come and she fights on**.


	4. Sortie 4: Faithful Love Songs (1)

When she opened her eyes, she realized that it was snowing. The park was empty and she found herself all on her own. Her clear blue eyes surveyed the surrounding area, reaching out with her senses to see if she was indeed by herself.

The trees rustled and from it flew a couple of birds towards the gray clouds above. She could see her own breath smoke while following the birds with her eyes, it was starting to get colder and colder. She got off the park bench and decided to do what she came to this city for.

Zipping her thick fur jacket and fixing her snow white hair, Verniy pulled out the list of items she needed to buy for her sister back at the Naval District. She briefly wondered what this was all about given that her sister wouldn't usually get her to follow up a mail order for a new oven. That was the Heavy Cruisers' job but given that she was the only one available during this point of time, she might as well do it. It shouldn't be that hard.

Verniy unconsciously reached for her hip yet she clicked her tongue once she noticed she didn't have her flask with her. Right, that's because the humans weren't used to seeing a 'little girl' like her ingest alcohol from a personal flask and would question her for days on end. She disliked getting her Admiral involved with this when she was just out here for a minor errand.

Hm… Didn't Akatsuki say something about this..?

…..

….

…

 ** _Several Hours earlier_**

"Hibiki, I need you to get out," the dark haired Akatsuki put plainly as she looked down on her hung over sister, "Please, I need you to get out and leave."

Verniy groaned from as she kicked her futon off her legs while giving her elder sister a bleary look, "You're… kicking me out..?"

"Yes, you need to stop rolling around my bed while drunk. My futon is starting to smell. At least clean your room before coming to mine, it's a rather improper way to conduct yourself! You're a Lady, Hibiki so you need to act like one," reprimanded Akatsuki as she tried to drag her sister from the room. Verniy simply narrowed her gaze and clung to the floor as her sister struggled to drag her away. In the end, Akatsuki found herself sweating and despite the cold weather, her yukata only made the heat worse.

"Let me sleep. I'll leave… Later. Gonna have to savor Akatsuki's smell before it gets drowned out by the vodka…" grumbled the white haired girl as she embraced a big clump of the futon. The elder sister blushed bright red at this and tried prying her sister off her futon.

"No Hibiki, you musn't do that! That's bad! Bad Hibiki! Now I have to clean my futon too! Nooo, don't get your alcohol on it!" cried the elder sister as she sat on her sister's back and tried pulling her away. Verniy remained unmoving where she was lying as her sister didn't have the strength to move her.

"Heh," she chuckled at her sister's struggles given how futile they were and once Akatsuki realized this, she stopped pulling on the back of Verniy's shirt.

"You're stubborn," huffed Akatsuki as she fell down Verniy's side with a look of exhaustion, Come on, Hibiki…."

"What is this about?" asked Verniy as she finally faced her sister, "Is… there something wrong..?"

"Eh? Uh, well… You see I need you to go buy things for me," replied the elder sister with a weak chuckle.

Being given a rather flat look by the other girl, Akatsuki nervously tried explaining, "W-W-Well you see, I think you needed some fresh air and holing up in my room is fine and all and I like you being here but it's starting to smell really weird so I was thinking of getting you out first so I can clean the place. Please don't get mad!"

Verniy relaxed her expression as she closed her eyes and sighing.

"Not only that," added Akatsuki as she cleared her throat, "But you seem to have some things on your mind. Why don't you take this opportunity to unwind?"

"Is it that obvious?" questioned the white haired girl as she glanced at her sister.

"If the increasing number of bottles within ten feet of your room was any indication, yes," Akatsuki then stood up and dusted her deep purple yukata and offered a hand to her little sister, "Come on, let's not be stubborn."

Verniy stared at Akatsuki with her piercing blue eyes before cracking a light smile, "This sort of Akatsuki is fine too."

Grabbing hold of her confused elder sister's hand, she got up.

…..

….

…

 _ **The Present**_

Verniy found herself standing before a crosswalk while the pedestrian lighting glowed a heavy shade of red. A crowd began to mill about her and she noted that a few of them were giving her strange yet curious looks. She pretended not to notice and simply tucked her hands within her jacket as the lighting went green. She took the first step across the street as she met with the other crowd on the other side of the road. She was quite far off from home having taken the train to get to this city.

She didn't have much choice, it was either Akatsuki used the internet for mail ordering or she had Verniy go get the things she needed for her. Now Akatsuki and the internet never mixed and Verniy made sure to keep the World Wide Web out of her sister's reach. Not after that incident with Akebono got around two years ago, she was a bit wary introducing much of modern society's better blessings. Akatsuki may have matured over the few years but she was still a fool, who knew what she would do with information just being a click away.

Nonetheless, it seemed that Christmas was just around the corner. The decorations were gradually being put up throughout town it seems. Unfortunately the familiar echoes of Christmas songs have yet to resound from within the town at this time. She caught sight of some youths going about their business, wandering inside café's or heading for the mall. If she wasn't mistaken, it should be Winter Break around this time, she wondered if the malls would be packed due to the increase of customers.

She quickly entered one of the malls and brought up her list again.

First up was that oven. Verniy looked for the closest appliance store with her list in hand and found one immediately right beside the entrance she just went in. The cold weather was immediately moderated to a tolerable level the farther she went inside the mall, passing by other people as she went. Unfortunately just as she was about to walk inside the appliance store, she was stopped by a person getting in her way.

Coming to a halt and looking up, she was greeted by the sight of a woman in a business suit smiling down at her.

Taken aback, she immediately grew suspicious as she narrowed her gaze, "May I help you?"

"Excuse me, Miss but can I take a moment of your time?" asked the woman with a bright smile.

Verniy knew these sorts of people. She wasn't like how she was a couple years back anymore so there was only one way out of this situation. And that was to run away!

"I apologize, but I have places to be," thinking quickly, she crossed her hands before her and tried to make a quick getaway past the woman.

"Not so fast! My Talent Eye knows a potential when it sees one and you're about to get away that easily!" snapped the woman as she mirrored Verniy's sidestep and got in her way again. The white haired girl scowled and clicked her tongue as she exchange glares with the woman before her. Cracking a smile, the woman then said, "Now, why don't have a chat instead of playing this game? It'll only take a minute."

"Clingy, aren't you?" murmured the Ship Girl.

"I wouldn't last long in this job if I wasn't aggressive, young miss," replied the woman with a smirk, "Now stay still."

"I'm not buying what you're selling nor am I interested in joining cults," Verniy put plainly.

"And I assure you that I'm not an agent of any of those organizations," the woman coughed at the Ship Girl's words yet maintained her composure, "Now please would you just listen for a minute. I'll even buy you something if you'd stay put."

That made Verniy stop and think. The woman was about to go in and seal the deal when the girl spoke once more, "Will you buy me vodka?"

Wait, what? Okay, this kid may be a delinquent. Heh, people like that too, thought the woman in surprise. It was in her job description to be decisive but she also had her responsibility as an adult, "Maybe we can settle for something else?"

"Rejected," answered Verniy as she tried breaking through—

"Miss Producer, are you harassing people again?!"

Verniy stopped at the last second and turned to see a blur of light brown hair dance by.

…..

"Ah, it's just you. Well I wasn't harassing but recruiting—" the woman tried explaining yet the newcomer shut her down.

"If it's going to bother people, I'd say you should just give up no matter how much potential they have! You and your 'Talent Eye' are going to cause more trouble than it's worth, please consider the rest of us in our unit," huffed the newcomer as she reprimanded the older woman.

"Gah, what are you even doing here? Shouldn't you be preparing yourself at the backstage?!" squawked the Producer woman.

"I was thinking of helping out and making sure you got someone competent," was the new girl's reply. She then turned to face Verniy whom had been standing still, looking stupefied during the entire exchange, "Um excuse me? Are you okay?"

 _Are you okay, nanodesu?_

The Ship Girl's brain seemed to have paused for a split second before she found her voice again, "I'm… I'm fine…"

"Ah, I'm sorry for whatever the Producer did. She's aggressive like that but please don't call the police on her just yet! I do hope you'll find it in your heart to forgive her!" pleaded the new girl as she bowed apologetically before Verniy.

Verniy for her part was taken aback by this and said, "No, no it's fine. I was just surprised but… What's this all about? And… Who are you?"

"My name is Saya, nice to meet you," greeted the girl with a kind smile as she held a piece of paper towards Verniy, "In the place of my dumb Producer, we were wondering if you're interested in becoming an Idol?"

Wait…. Wait what?!

(To be continued...)


End file.
